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Killarney RFC Club Captain, Peter Kelly, was recently named Volunteer of the Month by Munster Rugby.
“Killarney RFC struggled last season,” Tom O’Leary, Vice-Chair Killarney RFC
said.
“There was no coaching team and as the losses stacked up they only managed to win one league game all season, the playing squad shrank. By season-end the match-day bench sometimes consisted of a solitary player.”
Last June, Peter Kelly was elected Club Captain and immediately set about rebuilding the culture, he explained.
“First and foremost was the playing squad. A list was put together of all past youth and senior players and Peter started making the calls. As the summer progressed, he slowly built his squad from 20 to 30 and finally the mid-40s.
He also put together a fantastic pre-season programme with the support of an experienced coach and arranged pre-season friendlies. At the same time, he steadily built up the backroom team, culminating in the appointment of a head coach, Diarmuid O’Malley.
“Peter’s dedication to the club and to rugby are epitomised by the fact that he is still playing at 49. Even beyond this, he postponed his honeymoon following his recent wedding until the season is over.”
And he added that the club managed to win seven out of their 10 league games are in a promotion playoff.
“For the first time ever, we have started bridging the gap between the youth and senior set-ups with senior players helping out as required, all spear-headed by Peter."